Seven years appropriate for presidential term: Turkish head of state

[FeLiX]

President Sezer has previously tried to block amendments to the constitution that would allow the term of the presidency to be lowered to five years.

It would be more appropriate if the term of office for the Turkish presidency remained at the present seven years, rather than being changed to five and a half, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is reported to have said.

Sezer’s comments, passed on to reporters by Arif Ali Atay the head of the Divrigi Culture Foundation, came after a meeting in Ankara. “Seven years is better for a more effective and efficient term,” xx cited the president as saying.

In late May, the parliament passed legislation that would allow the head of state to be elected by a popular vote, rather than the present practice of a vote of parliament. The legislation also changed the presidential term to be reduced form seven years to five and for the incumbent to stand for a second term.

President Sezer vetoed the legislation in June but it was passed unchanged by the parliament a second time later that month. Under Turkey’s constitution, the president had to ratify the legislation, though he then appealed to the Constitutional Court to overturn the amendments.

The court ruled the legislation did not breach the constitution, and the amendments will be put before the Turkish people at a referendum in October.